Bethel Church in Redding, California, last week, responded to the “Christian Tarot card” controversy that has created a buzz in the Christian media.

Apparently, church leaders could no longer ignore reports that people closely associated with the church — including students from their school — have used the controversial decks of cards known as Destiny Cards. And members of their pastoral staff have defended the use of the cards. One, Theresa Dedmon, even developed her own set of Destiny Cards. These reports seem to have damaged Bethel’s reputation given the fact that they felt the need to respond with a formal statement — something they don’t do often though the church is no stranger to controversial news.

Here’s the statement they posted on their website on January 5. It’s fairly lengthy. In short, it states that Bethel has no formal affiliation with Christalignment, the organization at the center of the controversy. Yet it goes on to defend Christalignment’s use of the cards as a legitimate form of evangelistic outreach to New Agers. In contrast, critics of the cards, including myself, have argued that the cards are being used, essentially like Tarot cards — i.e., as a tool for divination. Divination is condemned in Scripture.

Bethel’s statement about Christalignment is clearly intended to put to bed concerns about the cards. Ironically, it raises more questions than it answers.

Reading some of the comments to Holly's post this morning, found one from Andrew that I found very interesting. He asks about the practice of casting lots to determine God's will in scripture and how tarot cards differ.

From Andrews comment:

.... I was reading in Acts 1 this morning where the remaining apostles cast lots to determine who would replace Judas (v26), but we also see this practice condoned and/or commanded throughout the Old Testament (1 Chronicles 24:5, Jonah 1:7, 1 Samuel 10:20-24, et al). Proverbs 16:33 says “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

Andrew, that’s a good question. The casting of lots was a practice that appeared to be authorized by God, for a season at least, to be used by the priests in the Old Testament and the apostles in the New Testament. The use of lots by the pagan sailors in Jonah was descriptive of what they did, not prescriptive for what we should do. The Proverbs verse teaches that there is nothing that falls outside of God’s providence, even things we would attribute to random chance. Proverbs doesn’t instruct us to make decisions in this way; rather the entire book teaches principles for making wise decisions. In short, divination involves seeking forbidden knowledge in an unauthorized manner.

I think casting lots to arrive at a decision or choice is an interesting topic I'm going to look into. I don't believe I've ever read anything about that.

Not everything that the Apostles did was without error. In the case of them praying for who would become the 12th Apostle, to me it was very right to pray and ask the Lord who it would be. Show us Lord, who do You want to be counted among us? To me it seems that they went wrong in not being able to wait for an answer. They sort of took matters into their own hands by drawing straws. That is my opinion.

We know that Peter chose wrongly when he withdrew himself form eating with the gentiles and was rebuked for it by Paul.

They were Jesus’ Apostles, and the church was built upon their doctrine and the Prophet’s, with Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone, but they did need correction at times. We don’t see where the Lord corrected them for drawing lots, but to me they were in the wrong in the matter.

Gal 2: 14-19 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, "If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law ( the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus ), died to the law ( the law of sin and death ) that I might live to God.Parenthetical remarks added are mine.